Childe Oy to the Dark Tower Came
by Invol713
Summary: I never liked how Oy's death was treated at the end of The Dark Tower. I felt that Oy still had more story left to tell. This is my attempt to give Oy some closure.


**Childe Oy to the Dark Tower Came**

1. _"Olan..."_

He wished he could say more. He wanted to tell his former Din that he tried his best, but Mordred was just too strong. He wished he could say that he forgave Olan for the harshness of the past night. He wanted to explain that even though the ka-tet had been broken, the pack-bond of family still remained. As much as he liked Susannah, Olan was and still is the pack leader. This was not a question. Ake would've remained, and by extension, so would he. Even though he knew in his heart what was to become of him, so would he.

However, Oy found that he could not tell the Gunslinger more. Even his final thought of _'Olan, go then. There are other worlds than these'_ only got so far as the name of Ake's father before the darkness started enveloping his mind. He sighed, knowing the time was now beyond speaking. There was only one other thing he could think to do; he licked the Gunslinger's hand with great effort. As his head drooped for the last time, Oy thought he heard the faint sound of chimes. Blackness.

2. Todash

When he opened his eyes, Oy discovered that instead of the throckin version of the clearing at the end of the path, he saw that he was on the ground next to the branch that spilled his final lifeblood. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, as well as he couldn't remember going to the initial sleep that preceded his awakening.

Off in the distance, Oy saw the Gunslinger and the hooting boy sitting by a small stream. He barked, but there was no notice by either human. A little alarmed, he trotted over to the stream. "Olan." he barked. No response. Moving to face Olan, Oy saw that Olan had a dead billy-bumbler in his lap and was absently stroking the bumbler's coat. Oy immediately realized that the bumbler's body was his very own departed husk. It was about that time that Oy noticed the partial-eclipse dark-look to the air and the steadily-growing-louder chimes.

He had been in this state before, and didn't like it one bit either then or now. He had no thought in his mind as to why he was in the dreaded black space that made his fur instinctively stand on end. He had no time to dwell further on the matter as he spied monstrous creatures skulking in the far distance. Oy had never seen anything like them, but that didn't stop him from instinctively crouching in the dirt. Oy looked over at the humans, who seemed entirely unaware that such creatures were off in the distance. Or perhaps their feeble senses hadn't yet detected the creatures? Oy barked a low warning with no reply. Oy pensively whined 'Oolaaaan...'. No answer. Whatever was to be done, it would seem the burden would fall upon him once again.

Oy hopped onto Ho Fat II and settled into a defensive crouch, awaiting the moment the creatures would take notice of him and strike. During the burial of the Bumbler's body, they did take notice of his todash self, and quickly began to close in. Great serpent-like creatures writhing along the ground, all the while seemingly intertwined with themselves as well. Oy yelled the humans' names and gave furious barks towards the oncoming writhing mass. Oy braced for the onslaught... that never came.

The snake creatures got within striking range of the small party when they split in half and veered along each side of the group as if they had hit a wedge. A bit in the distance, they reformed into a singular mass again. Seemingly confused, the serpents turned for another attack, and split as neatly in half as the first time. What was going on? Oy looked around and realized that the center of the diversion wasn't himself, but the strange boy. It was as if there was a force field surrounding him, and extending out to cover the rest of the party, Oy included. The serpents tried a third time, with much the same result. Seemingly defeated, the serpents gave a great chorusing roar of rage, and sped off for the nearest speaking ring. No other monsters attempted to near them. The humans, of course, were totally oblivious that any of this had happened.

Olan started pulling the cart toward the next hill, and Oy fell asleep amongst the gunna. It had indeed been a trying day for him. Maybe when he awoke, the strange blackness would be gone. Oy didn't get his wish.

3. The Roses

Oy awoke instantly to the high whistling sound off in the distance. He jumped to his feet and dove off of the cart just as the whistling ball of death exploded the place where he lay not a second before. He quickly gathered the situation. They were in a vast field of roses, with the great tower looming off in the distance. But while the Tower was a beautiful presence, he could sense a very bad presence. A very red presence. In fact, he remembered feeling this presence before. He felt it on the days when he was run out of the throckin warren and lost someone dear to him, in what he had started thinking of as the second-worse time of his life (losing Jake will now-and-forever be first).

Oy pulled his gaze from the tower and was looking around for the humans when a can bounced through him. Oy instinctively jumped, but then remembered that he was not of their world anymore. Sudden sadness was quickly replaced by relief when he spotted the others sprawled behind a pyramid-looking pile. He ran over to them, because as he was now sure he couldn't be harmed by the exploding things anymore, he wasn't quite as sure that the red thing in the tower couldn't cause harm.

Oy watched as more balls of death came, and how Olan quickly dispatched them with his gun. The boy seemed to watch in amazement as well. Then silence, almost. Oy could hear the Tower calling to him in both human voices and the voices of his kind. He had a feeling of longing, of wanting to go to the Tower, but he couldn't. Not yet, while his Din was still here pinned down behind the pyramid. Then he noticed that Olan seemed to be fighting the draw of the Tower as well. That settled it. If Olan can stay, so would he.

Oy watched as the boy drew his picture of the Bad Red Thing. The picture made him uneasy, so he decided to jump on the side of the pyramid to look around. There was still no sign of the monsters from before. Just the great field of roses and the tower. After a conversation between the humans, Olan jumped out and grabbed for a rose. Why did he do that? Oy also saw that the big gun went sailing into the tall grass. Oy quickly ran over and tried to pick up the gun to bring back to Olan. He of course couldn't grab the gun with his jaws, so he yelled "Olan! Here!" in hopes that maybe the Gunslinger would hear his cries and not get killed by the whistling ball of death heading their way. Surprisingly, Olan seemed to hear him, as he reached out in just the right direction and grabbed and fired at the last second. After shooting three more balls out of the sky, the throckin-that-was and the human went back to the shelter of the pyramid as they heard the Bad Red Thing screaming in the distance.

When they were settled once again, Oy noticed the boy was... eating the rose? He also noticed that Olan's hand was a bloody mess after the wrappings were taken off. He was going to die on Oy's watch if this kept up. Then what would he do? Be stuck as one of those spirit monsters forever? No. Oy knew that he wasn't able to be hurt in this world anymore, so he had an idea. He would save Jake's father one last time. Oy ran headlong through the roses to confront the red thing in the Tower. He would do Jake proud. _Aaaake..._

When Oy arrived at the tower, nobody noticed. Not the humans, not the Bad Red Thing, not the Tower. Oy barked furiously, but still received no notice. That is when some ancient switch deep in his soul triggered.

"Stop! Oy! Eld! Comman you!"

The Bad Red Thing looked down at the great voice coming from such a tiny body... and started crying out in pain. This was unexpected. Oy watched in stunned silence as bits and pieces of the Bad Red Thing started disappearing right before his eyes. Shortly afterward, all that was left were the two burning red orbs of the red thing's eyes. Oy, satisfied that his work was done, raised his leg and pissed in the direction of the former Bad Red Thing before trotting back to the humans.

As he approached Olan, he began shouting names of people toward him. No, not him. Toward the Tower. Oy listened as Olan exclaimed one name after another. When his name was called, he barked "Oy! Mid-world!" He thought he heard a howl from somewhere in the distance at his proclamation, but no creatures could be seen. When the Gunslinger cried out Jake's name, Oy echoed "Ake! York!". Another howl was heard.

He followed Olan up to the great door that opened for him, and watched him set down the silver cross and revolver and enter the goal that their ka-tet had sacrificed so much to reach. As soon as Olan entered into the tower, the door swung shut. Oy seemed startled since he was still on the outside. He barked for Olan, then at the door. Nothing. Then from somewhere deep inside him, he heard a voice. _Howl, for your father's sake!_ Without thinking, he did.

The howl reverberated off of the walls of the Dark Tower at a much louder volume than he had originally used. The howl rose and rose until it became deafening. Oy was about to crouch so he could put his paws over his ears when a reply was heard. It was another throckin? No. He wasn't sure what throat had formed the sound, but he was sure that it wasn't formed by one of his kind. But at the same time, it seemed eerily familiar. One thing was certain though; the howl was one of _I hear you very well._ Once the sound stopped reverberating in his head, Oy noticed a small opening in the grand door that Olan had so recently used to leave this world. It hadn't been there before, Oy was sure of it. Those of us in this world may laugh upon the thought of the Dark Tower having a doggie door, but Oy is not of our world. He quickly ran through the small opening for fear of being shut out a second time.

4. The Tower

Once Oy entered the tower in pursuit of the Gunslinger, he saw that the inside walls seemed to disappear. Well, not quite disappear. Like the great doors, he was able to see through the walls from this direction. However, unlike the doors, there was what looked like clear glass made out of mirage waves. The only other feature in the room that he could see were the ascending stairs. Unbeknownst to either Oy or Roland was the fact that Roland could have seen Oy very well inside the Tower had he only but looked down. However in his rapture, he never once glanced near his feet.

Nineteen steps brought the pair up to the first room. The Gunslinger peered inside and saw the trappings of his babyhood. Oy did not. What he did see was from his own birthing. The room looked just like the underground nest where his mother birthed him along with his first ka-tet, with the exception of the thousands of throckin faces layered in the walls. In times of hardship, the last-born of the litter is often disposed of so that the others may live. The winter before Oy's birth had unusually high rainfall, so there was plenty of food to go around that year. Perhaps Ka had spared the most important of the throckin, but we'll never know, will we?

Oy stared in amazement. How could this be here? How could the wall faces, that he could somehow sense were his ancestors, all be here? All those faces, just looking at him and saying nothing, as if they expected him to be a stark blast. Wait. No. The smell here was wrong. Almost right, but almost right made it fully wrong. Olan was moving on up the stairs, and Oy decided to quickly follow.

The second landing was mostly bare. Oy could have sworn he smelled the scent of his long-lost mother. The scent brought back memories of her muzzle nudging him toward the teat, to make sure even her last-born would live and thrive. In the room the only item to be seen was s single tooth. Oy recognized it as a milk tooth – the first teeth throckin are born with, but lose as a sign of weening-time. Beyond the tooth, the door on the far end of the room was red. Oy could sense that the Bad Red Thing was beyond it. He gave a single sniff, then turned and followed Olan again.

The next landing showed the faces of his mother and ka-babbys. She was teaching them how to hunt efficiently. Despite being last-born, he quickly became the best hunter of his litter. Even though she never showed it, he could tell that his mother was proud of him. Up more flights of stairs.

Olan stopped to look at one, and what Oy saw was something he would like to forget. He had found a female member of another litter out in the forest. He liked her scent, and he thought she liked his. They frolicked in the forest, and even started hunting together. Then they found the boy. He spied them, and froze. Then he said hello, I won't hurt you. The throckin couldn't understand human speech, as they had never seen a human before in their lives. However, this human didn't have a bad smell, so the two held their ground and listened to the boy talk to them. Then the boy left.

On the next landing, the throckin were out hunting and encountered the same boy. The boy had some meat with him, and set it down on the ground and backed up. The two approached the meat, for it smelled wonderful. They wolfed down the delicious meat as the boy talked up a storm. Also according to the human, Oy's name was now Oy, and his companion's name was now Irl. As the two throckin finished their meal, they stood listening to the human boy talk his strange language. However, the words were becoming clearer to Oy. When the human called "Hey, Boy!", Oy tried the strange bark for himself. "Oy!"

"Yeah, that's it! Do it again!"

"Oyoyoy!"

Yeah! How about you, Girl? Can you do it?"

She did. "Irl!"

The human tried to get the animals to say many more words, and to his delight, his new animal companions complied. Then the boy had to leave again for the night. Oy and Irl then scurried back home, talking and barking the whole way. They were excited for their new-found skill, but not everybody shared their enthusiasm. The growling came from the clan's elder. He had a very low opinion of humans, and would not tolerate their speech in his clan. Despite his mother's attempts to help, the elder throckin chased the two younglings away from the clan. Oy could hear his mother howl once, knowing that her favorite pup wouldn't live long out there.

Oy knew what he would find on the next landing, even if he was unaware that this was the thirty-eighth landing. In the room, he could see the face of his beloved in the wall. Seeing her and hearing her "Irl Irl!" bark brought back the memory of the animal closing in on them in the forest. He never was sure what kind of creature pursued them, only that it was much larger than them and possessed much larger teeth. He had managed to get away from it. Irl did not. That night, he howled and howled, for this was the first time in his life that he had been truly alone. The remembering of this made Oy shiver. It seemed so long ago, but it still hurt so much. His mate was gone in an instant, and he had known no other. He was starting to regret following Olan into this place of memories. Too late now.

He continued to follow the human up and up. Oy could sense that he was not the only one feeling the pressure of memories, as Olan has sped up his ascent considerably. Oy was glad for that. Occasionally Oy would glance in random rooms during the seemingly endless ascent. He saw Ake in one of the rooms, and paused for a moment. _Aaaake..._ He thought as the apparition dissolved into nothingness, leaving the very familiar, but still wrong, scent of the human he loved so much. Oy saw Ake in other rooms, but he knew the same fate that befell the first apparition awaited those Akes as well. Oy didn't look into another room until he was near the top.

The next to last room was strange. There was a scene with the two eyes of the Bad Red Thing floating high, with what looked like a stuffed animal of himself on the ground. But somehow he could sense that it was more than just him. All of his ancestors that led up to the current hero were all represented in that one fragile effigy. He instinctively gave a howl toward it, and heard a reply from up ahead. Olan never noticed this exchange. He seemed enthralled as he continued with his own path.

Suddenly Oy saw light coming from the top of the stairway. He then heard Olan cry out the most pitiful sound Oy had ever heard from the Gunslinger. Something was wrong. Oy hurried up the stairway, and found... nothing. The stairs ended in the dead-end of a wall of bricks.

"_Olan!"_ Oy barked. No reply. He barked the name twice more. Still nothing. He barked Ake's name. Still nothing. What now? Suddenly, Oy felt very tired. He curled up at the top of the stairway and settled down for a nap. Maybe something will happen when he woke up?

"_Oy, you have done well."_

Oy awoke to find himself in a featureless white area. _"Oy!" _he barked back at the disembodied voice.

"_You sacrificed yourself in the name of honor and true selflessness. If only others would follow in your example."_

Oy said nothing, barely understanding to what this voice was referring.

"_I will now grant you one wish, brave and noble throckin."_

Oy needed no time to think. _"Ake!"_

"_Ake, indeed. Until we meet again, my son. Sleep."_

As Oy drifted off to sleep once again, he briefly wondered what ever happened to Olan? Yet somehow it just didn't seem that important anymore. Oy slept.

5. The New World

The runt of the litter was the only one not whimpering for the teat immediately. A younger mother would have left him for dead and moved on, but her older, wiser instincts wouldn't let her abandon him. She lovingly nudged her pup to his nourishment and laid her head back down on the old mattress.

As the pups grew, mother and younglings would walk about scrounging for food in the New York City alleyways that they called home. The runt, as runts were prone to doing, fell behind to the last spot of the small pack during these adventures. It was during one of these scrounging missions when the runt got hung up on a high curb. Being barely two months old, he hadn't yet mastered the full agility that most canines are bestowed. It was here on his curb that he heard the yelps and screams as the car careened out of the alleyway and ended the life of his dear mother and siblings under two tons of metal and rubber. The vehicle didn't once slow down as it lumbered away.

The pup whimpered. _Where did they go?_ It was at this time that his strange crying could be heard in the surrounding area. He was then whisked up into the air.

"_It's okay, boy. I've got you."_

The pup gave out a startled yip.

"_Ake!"_

The blond-haired boy laughed and said "Hey, look! I think he said my name!" as he turned to show off the pup to his dark-skinned traveling companion sitting in a wheelchair.


End file.
